Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor was a Ñoldorin prince, last of the House of Fëanor left in Middle-earth and ruler of the Second Age realm of Eregion, and the forger of the Rings of Power. Biography Celebrimbor was the son of Curufin, fifth son of Fëanor (son of Finwë and his first wife Miriel) and Nerdanel. During the First Age he lived with his father in Nargothrond, but he took no part in the deeds of Curufin and Celegorm regarding Lúthien, Beren, and Finrod. He repudiated his father Curufin's deeds and did not follow his father and brothers when they were expelled from Nargothrond.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien" Celebrimbor settled in Eregion in the Second Age and started dealing with the dwarves of the realm of Khazad-dûm. In SA 1500 Sauron, calling himself Annatar ("lord of gifts"), befriended the Ñoldor of Eregion. He claimed to be an emissary of the Valar, especially Aule, and instructed them in the art of ring-making.The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age Celebrimbor distrusted him, but the smiths of Eregion were deceived. Under the guidance and instruction of Sauron, the smiths openly made rings to learn the craft, but unknown to them the craft taught by Sauron incorporated a binding magic into the rings. In secret, Sauron forged the One Ring, a master ring that would rule all the lesser rings, to enable him to rule Middle Earth via its influence over those who used those other rings. When Sauron placed the One Ring on his finger, claiming dominance over all the Rings of Power and their bearers, the Elves knew his true identity and intentions. Celebrimbor and the Elves of Eregion defied Sauron by withholding the other rings from him. The greatest of the rings (aside from the One Ring) were created by Celebrimbor himself, and these were never touched by Sauron and thus were uncorrupted by him, although they were still subject to the One Ring. These were the three Rings of the Elves, the fairest of the Rings of Power. Celebrimbor named them Vilya, Narya, and Nenya after the principal Middle-earth elements of air, fire and water, respectively.According to the dwarves, the chief Dwarven Ring of Power was also made free of Sauron's influence and given to a dwarf personally by Celebrimbor. He sent the three rings away for safekeeping: Vilya and Narya to Gil-galad in Lindon.According to some versions, he gave Narya directly to Cirdan), and Nenya to Galadriel in Lothlórien. Sauron retaliated by attacking Eregion, laying waste to the realm. Celebrimbor was captured in the sack and was forced under torture to disclose where the lesser rings were, but he would not reveal the whereabouts of the three greatest of them that he had sent away for safekeeping. Celebrimbor died from his torment, the last direct descendant of the line of Fëanor (save perhaps for his father's brother Maglor, whose fate is unknown and is said by some legends to still wander the shores of the Sea). Sauron captured the lesser rings and re-gifted them: seven to kings of the Dwarves, and nine to kings of Men. Important Works Celebrimbor was one of the most skilled smiths of Middle Earth. He forged the Elves' Three Rings of power and the Doors of Durin in Khazad-dûm (with the help of the dwarf Narvi). According to some accounts he made a version of the Elfstone (or the Elessar) as a gift to Galadriel, whom he loved.The Lord of the RingsThe Complete Guide to Middle-earth Etymology The name Celebrimbor means "silver-fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin translated from his Quenyan father-name Telperinquar.The Complete Guide to Middle-earth Portrayal in adaptions Shadow of Mordor Celebrimbor appears in the game The Shadow of Mordor as the wraith assisting the Ranger Talion in destroying the forces of Sauron. Developers have revealed that he assists Talion due to the guilt he feels for creating the rings of power, and thus he feels ultimately responsible for the trouble Middle-earth is in. However, the Celebrimbor that appears in the game differs from the Tolkien Celebrimbor in that he not only makes the three elf rings, but he crafts all of the rings of power, and helps Sauron forge the one ring (via scribing the lettering of the ring upon it) under the deception that Sauron would use it to help people. However, once Saurons intentions were revealed to him he stole the one ring and used it to command an army of Orcs and Uruks to defeat Sauron and claim Mordor. Celebrimbor uses the ring's power of invisibility to defeat Sauron, however the ring wanted to return to the dark lord and so slipped off of Celebrimbor's finger and onto Sauron's, breaking Celebrimbor's control of the Orcs. He was then tortured as punishment, had his family tortured and killed in front of him, before finally being beaten to death with his own Mithril hammer by Sauron. When the game takes place and the protagonist, Talion, is slain in a blood-ritual, he is bounded to the Ranger, which allows Talion to return from the dead (in addition to many other abilities). However, he decieves Talion by pretending that the Black Hand of Sauron placed a curse on them, binding them together, where in reality Cerebrimbor chose Talion as his "host" and could have released him at any time. However, together they defeat the Black Hand and together decide to stay bounded together in order to take down the Dark Lord. References External link * de:Celebrimbor es:Celebrimbor pl:Celebrimbor ru:Келебримбор Category:Sindarin words Category:High Elves Category:Noldor Category:The Silmarillion Characters Category:Non-canonical Undead Apparitions Category:Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor